Sunken vessel locator

ABSTRACT

A sound-generating instrument for use on a boat or other watercraft arranged to operate only if the boat is submerged, and which generates a sound under water to aid in locating and recovering the same. When the device is carried under water with the sinking craft, a pressure-responsive switch connects a soundgenerating device inside the instrument with a dry battery also inside the instrument. In lieu of a pressure-responsive switch, a switch which is held open until submerged in water may be used.

United States Patent Richards 1 1 Aug. 22, 1972 [54] SUNKEN VESSEL LOCATOR [72] Inventor: Charles D. Richards, 615 3 Gloucester Ave., Middlesboro, Ky.

[22] Filed: June 24, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 49,228

[52] US. Cl ..340/240, 9/8.3 E, ZOO/61.04, 200/83 R [51] Int. Cl. ..G08b 21/00, B63b 17/00 [58] Field of Search ..340/240, 12, 2; 325/116; ZOO/61.04, 83; 102/81, 7; 9/8, 8.3, 8.3 E, 9; 200/83 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 512,957 1/1894 Guest et al ..9/8.3 UX 2,422,337 6/1947 Chil'owsky ..340/2 2,559,918 7/1951 Grieb ..9/8.3 E 2,592,461 4/1952 Perkins et al .9183 E 2,786,195 3/1957 Colette ..340/401 X 3,022,395 2/ 1962 Sear et a1 ..102/7 X 2,448,713 9/1948 Harsell ..325/116 X 3,374,323 3/1968 Peek et al. ..340/240 X Primary Examiner-John W. Caldwell Assistant Examiner-Daniel Myer Attomey-Parmelee, Utzler & Welsh ABSTRACT A sound generating instrument for use on a boat or other watercraftarranged to operate only if the boat is' subme'rged,'and which generates a sound underwater to aid in locating and recovering the same. When the device is carried under water with the sinking craft',,a pressure-responsive switch connects a sound-generating device inside the instrument with a dry battery also inside the instrument. In lieu of a pressure-responsive switch, a switch which is held open until submerged in water may be used.

9 Claims, 5 Drawing figures Patented Aug. 22, 1972 INVENTOI? CHARL ES 0. RICHARDS Iris Attorneys SUNKEN VESSEL LOCATOR This invention is for a signaling device for use aboard watercraft of various kinds to aid in the quick location and salvage of the vessel if, for any cause, it sinks.

There are at the present time several million small craft, both motor craft and sailboats, barges, houseboats and other small and medium-size craft in use on the inland and coastal waters of the United States. Many hundreds of such craft are lost each year with or without persons aboard them when they sink. Often this happens in relatively shallow water, and where a craft could be salvaged if it could be located within a reasonable time. Because of underwater currents, such as the flow of a river or tidal currents, a sunken vessel may drift from the place where it sank, or because there is no way to readily mark the spot where the boat sank, many are never found, or if eventually located, they have lost most, if not all of any salvage value. Such losses are a substantial factor in the cost of marine insurance for small craft, such as pleasure and fishing boats.

Sophisticated self-releasing buoys and other expensive signaling apparatus is available for large oceangoing vessels and submarines, but they are too bulky and/or too expensive for the great number of small craft of the type above referred to. The present invention has for its principal object to provide a relatively inexpensive, self-contained unit of small size especially for, but not limited to, use on small craft, either by mounting it on the deck or on the cabin roof of a vessel, or even in the cockpit or some other convenient place, and which, when it is immersed, will actuate a soundemitting device which will, enable a salvage ship, scuba divers or others to detect and quickly locate the sunken vessel.

According to this invention there is provided a selfcontained water-tight container in which there is a battery of dry cells, a battery-operated sound generator, and switch means to establish a circuit between the battery and the sound generator when the switch means is immersed in water. In its simplest and most inexpensive embodiment, the metal container unit may comprise a water-tight metal vessel with a removable cover sealed thereon to afford access to the battery. The sound generator may be one of several electrically-operated devices of known construction, a simple door bell type of electric vibrator in which the tapper strikes the interior of the container being here shown. When the container is immersed, the action of the tapper, striking the wall of the container, will transmit a sound through the water in all directions. More sophisticated apparatus, but still quite inexpensive, would include a thermal or other switch to make and break the circuit to the vibrator so that the sound would be intermittent and the life of the batteries extended, or any wellknown type of transistorized oscillating circuit for producing an intermittent beep can be used. The immersible switch to activate the unit may comprise either a pressure switch responsive to the increase in water pressure when the vessel sinks, or a switch that is normally held open against a spring or other biasing force tending to close it by a water-soluble substance which will dissolve when immersed.

My invention may be more fully understood by reference to the accompanying drawing showing certain embodiments of my invention.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a unit embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section through the unit, certain parts being schematically indicated;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view showing in detail one of the cover hold-down devices; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view similar to the upper portion of FIG. 3 with a different type of switch arrangement.

Referring to the drawings, 2 designates a metallic vessel of generally circular shape, and which is preferably of a non-rusting metal, or which has an adequate protective coating, at least on the exterior, to prevent rusting. It has a bottom 3 and a side wall 4. The top of the side wall is shown with an inturned ledge 5 on which is a sealing gasket 6. There is a cover 7 that fits over the top of the container. As here shown the cover has four bifurcated lugs 8 extending radially from its edge, and pivoted to the side wall of the container are four hinged bolts 9 with wing nuts 10 to engage in the lugs and hold the cover tightly in place. There is shown a hinged strap 11 on the cover, the free end of which has a slit through which a hasp 12 on the side wall 4 of the container passes. The loop of a pad lock (not shown) passed through the hasp will prevent unauthorized removal of the cover.

The central area of the cover has an upwardly extending flange or collar 13 onto the top of which is screwed a cover 14 with holes therein, and there are preferably holes 15 around the top of the collar. At a level below the holes 15 there is a flexible water-tight diaphram 16 in the center of which is a contact element 17, here shown to be a screw adjustable up and down in the diaphram. While it may itself be connected to one side of an electric current source, it has been here shown located above two normally separated contact strips 18 and 19 on an insulating block 20. This block is fixed on a transverse partition 21 in the lower part of the collar, the arrangement being such that under a predetermined pressure on the diaphram 16, the contact pin 17 will push the upper strip 18 into circuit-closing engagement with the lower strip 19. In other words, a simple pressure-responsive switch is provided.

In the bottom of the container 2 there are a number of dry cells 25 forming an electric battery, as for example two groups of three cells each connected in series,

with the groups themselves connected in parallel. To.

increase the weight and reduce the buoyancy of the sealed container, there may be a heavy plate 26 on which the cells set, or other ballast may be provided, such as a cement mass having cavities to receive the cells. Above the battery there is a transverse insulating portion with a fixed smaller section 27 and larger section 28 hinged at 28' to 27. It is normally held in closed position by one or more keepers 29. This keeps the batteries in position if the ship on which the instrument is carried turns over. At the same time the hinged section 28 can be raised when the cover 7 is removed for giving access to the battery to insert or replace it.

In the compartment above the insulating partition 27-28 there is an electrically operated sound generator. For the most simple arrangement an ordinary doorbell type vibrator 30 with a tapper 31 is arranged to hit the inner wall of the container, being fixed in an inverted position on a bracket 32 on the inner container wall. When the tapper strikes the wall of the container with the container immersed in water, a sound will be generated that can be detected for a considerable distance, depending of course on temperature, pressure, salinity and other factors known to sonar technicians, and these sounds can be detected by underwater detection devices, such as sonar detectors or even much less sophisticated instruments.

As here shown, current flows between one pole of the battery through wire 33, contacts 18 and 19 when these are closed, wire 34 to one terminal of the sound generator 30, and thence through wire 35 to the other pole of the battery. To prolong the life of the battery a circuit-interrupting means, such as a normally closed thermostat switch 36 is included in wire 35. It will heat when the vibrator is energized, open the circuit, and when it cools, it will re-establish the circuit. More sophisticated transistor circuits with oscillators to intermittently produce sound are known in the art and may be used. They require less space and power, but are somewhat more expensive.

Welded or otherwise secured to the lower side wall of the container are two or more angle lugs providing laterally extending feet with holes with holes therethrough for bolting or screwing the instrument to the deck, cabin roof or elsewhere on the vessel.

It is of course unnecessary that the device operate unless the boat or other vessel on which it is used is completely submerged. Therefore the diaphram 16 is so designed and of such diameter that it will not flex sufficiently to close the contacts 18 and 19 until the device is submerged to a predetermined depth. The provision of am adjusting screw contact 17 enables one diaphram to be adjusted for a considerable variation of depth. Thus if one boat has a forward deck 3 feet above the water line and a cabin 3 feet higher, and the instrument is secured to the deck, the diaphram should close the circuit at a minimum depth of water of about or 12 feet, assuming the draft of the vessel to be about 4 feet. On a larger craft the depth might be twice this, or even more.

in operation, of course, the instrument is inactive as long as the craft is afloat and the instrument above water. If the boat submerges to a depth where it is not visible, the diaphram 16 flexes under the pressure of the water above the diaphram, the water entering of course through the holes in the cover and the holes in the collar. When the predetermined depth is reached, the circuit between the battery and the vibrator or other sound-emitting device will be closed. If there is a thermostat in series with the vibrator, it will heat by the passage of current therethrough and open the vibrator circuit until the switch cools and closes to repeat the cycle in a manner well known in the art. Since the switch responds to water pressure, it will operate whether the device is upright, inverted, or in any other position in which the unit may be, due to the lie of the sunken vessel.

With the distinctive audible, or even super-audible, vibration emitted into the water, sonar or other appropriately equipped vessels or scuba divers with proper equipment can be brought to the general vicinity and normally quickly locate the submerged vessel.

In the modification shown in FIG. 5 the container, batteries and sound-generating device are the same as shown in FIG. 3, but the cover, designated 50, is flat across the top. Removably secured to it is an inverted cannister-like member 51 with rain-excluding louvered openings 52 in the side walls thereof. There is a lever 53 pivoted to the inner wall thereof and extending diametrically across its interior. The free end of this lever 53a turns down to make contact with a contact element 54 secured to but insulated from the wall of the cannister. A biasing spring 55 urges the lever toward the contact, but a water-soluble element keeps them separated. This may be a water-soluble wafer-like disk much like a thick medicinal wafer that dissolves with the release of gas, the wafer being located between terminal 53a on the lever and contact 54, or as shown, may be a readily-soluble or water-softenable mass 56 filling the interior of the cannister. The amount and character of the water-soluble or softenable material will determine how long after submersion the material will soften or dissolve to allow the contacts to close. Wires 57 and 58 correspond to wires 33 and 34 in FIG. 3 and the circuitry, except for the switch, is the same.

The device shown in FIG. 5 could of course operate to close a circuit if it were located on a deck when it was just awash, but generally would be so located and arranged that it would not allow the switch to close until the vessel had time to submerge, although premature operation would do no harm other than to require the cannister to be removed and the switch reset.

lclaim:

1. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels comprising a self-contained water-tight container having:

a. a battery within the container,

b. an electrically operated signal generating apparatus within the container,

0. a circuit for connecting the signal with the battery including a normally open switch between the battery and the signal generating means arranged to be closed only upon total immersion of the container in water, and

(1. means for fixedly securing and retaining the container attached to a vessel in such manner that when and if the vessel sinks beyond a predetermined depth the container will be totally immersed to thereby signal from beneath the surface of the water the location of the vessel.

2. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels as defined in claim 1 in which said circuit also includes normally closed switch means inside the container for intermittently opening and closing said circuit after said normally open switch has been closed to interrupt the operation of the signal generating means and then restore its operation.

3. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels as defined in claim 1 wherein said normally open switch comprises means sensitive to increasing water pressure outside the container for effecting the closing of said switch only upon immersion of the container to a depth where the water pressure is adequate to effect the closing of the switch.

4. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels as defined in claim 3 wherein said normally open switch comprises a flexible diaphram, one surface of which is exposed to pressure outside the container and the other surface is exposed to pressure inside the container with the diaphram forming a barrier against the entrance of water into the container, and contact means operated by flexing of the diaphragm by the pressure of water outside the container to circuit-closing position.

5. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels as defined in claim 4 wherein said contact means is adjustable to predetermine the depth of water at which said switch is closed.

6. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels as defined in claim 1 in which said normally open switch is in a water-pervious compartment fixed on the outside of the water-tight container and is biased to close and there is a water-soluble material arranged to hold the switch open against the biasing force until said material has dissolved.

7. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels as defined in claim 1 in which the signalgenerating means is an audible sound-generating means.

8. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels as defined in claim 7 wherein the sound generator is a vibrator arranged to vibrate against the container.

9. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of a sunken vessel as defined in claim 1 in which said circuit also includes a normally closed thermostatic switch having a thermostatic element responsive to current flow to the signal generating apparatus to effect opening and closing thereof by the heating and cooling of said thermostatic element and thereby effect the alternate operation and interruption of the signal-generating means. 

1. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels comprising a self-contained water-tight container having: a. a battery within the container, b. an electrically operated signal generating apparatus within the container, c. a circuit for connecting the signal with the battery including a normally open switch between the battery and the signal generating means arranged to be closed only upon total immersion of the container in water, and d. means for fixedly securing and retaining the container attached to a vessel in such manner that when and if the vessel sinks beyond a predetermined depth the container will be totally immersed to thereby signal from beneath the surface of the water the location of the vessel.
 2. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels as defined in claim 1 in which said circuit also includes normally closed switch means inside the container for intermittently opening and closing said circuit after said normally open switch has been closed to interrupt the operation of the signal generating means and then restore its operation.
 3. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels as defined in claim 1 wherein said normally open switch comprises means sensitive to increasing water pressure outside the container for effecting the closing of said switch only upon immersion of the container to a depth where the water pressure is adequate to effect the closing of the switch.
 4. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels as defined in claim 3 wherein said normally open switch comprises a flexible diaphram, one surface of which is exposed to pressure outside the container and the other surface is exposed to pressure inside the container with the diaphram forming a barrier against the entrance of water into the container, and contact means operated by flexing of the diaphram by the pressure of water outside the container to circuit-closing position.
 5. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels as defined in claim 4 wherein said contact means is adjustable to predetermine the depth of water at which said switch is closed.
 6. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels as defined in claim 1 in which said normally open switch is in a water-pervious compartment fixed on the outside of the water-tight container and is biased to close and there is a water-soluble material arranged to hold the switch open against the biasing force until said material has dissolved.
 7. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels as defined in claim 1 in which the signal-generating means is an audible sound-generating means.
 8. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of sunken vessels as defined in claim 7 wherein the sound generator is a vibrator arranged to vibrate against the container.
 9. Apparatus for aiding in the recovery of a sunken vessel as defined in claim 1 in which said circuit also includes a normally closed thermostatic switch having a thermostatic element responsive to current flow to the signal generating apparatus to effect opening and closing thereof by the heating and cooling of said thermostatic element and thereby effect the alternate operation and interruption of the signal-generating means. 